The invention relates to a device for reducing peelable products such as potatoes in size to a predetermined shape, consisting of an least one pair of adjacently located rotatably driven reducing elements, the outer surface of which has at least one constriction such that two oppositely situated constrictions form a passage opening between the elements for the reduced product.
A known device is embodied with two rollers arranged parallel adjacent to each other so that a row of mutually adjacent passage openings are formed. By discharging the products, for example potatoes, from the top onto the rotating rollers a quantity of material will be taken off the product for reducing in size by the surface of the elements, whereby this must be reduced to a sphere. In the case of roller elements provided with a grinding layer, such as carborundum, it is known to make the constrictions with circular passage opening. This has been found in practice to be unsatisfactory because the products are ground into an oval-shape as a result of the peripheral velocity differences of the mutually adjacent cross sections of the reducing elements, whereby the product cannot spin round freely, which is a condition for the removal of material on all sides.
The invention has for its object to obviate the above mentioned drawback and provides to this end a device which is distinguished in that the surface of at least one element is provided with a rough grinding surface, wherein the constriction is formed such that, as seen in top view, the passage opening is elongated in axial direction. This elongated passage opening can be oval-shaped, wherein it has been established in tests that the reduced products are perfectly ball or spherical shaped.
The invention further relates to a device for reducing peelable products such as potatoes in size to a predetermined shape, consisting of at least one pair of adjacently located rotatably driven reducing elements, the outer surface of which has at least one constriction such that two oppositely situated constrictions form a passage opening between the elements for the reduced product, wherein it is known to provide each reducing element with a rough grinding surface, for example in the form of carborundum. The drawback to such a surface is that this can easily become congested with material taken off the product, whereby the grinding action deteriorates.
The invention has for its object to obviate the above mentioned drawback in that each reducing element according to the invention is provided with knife-like protrusions for the purpose of peeling the product. Due to the knife-like protrusions a cutting action cakes place on the surface of the product wherein each knife-like protrusion cuts a small piece from the surface of the product.
In an embodiment the passage opening as seen in top view is takes a round form when use is made of the knife-like protrusions.
According to the invention various embodiments of knife-like protrusions can be applied, which preferably extend between two disc-shaped members located at a mutual distance. The knife-like protrusions can for example be peripheral teeth of mutually adjacent blades of different diameter.
Above mentioned and other features of the invention will be elucidated further in the figure description hereinbelow of a number of embodiments. In the drawing: